David Dose is the founder and president of Fort Sherman Academy, a provider of crisis support services for mission organizations and churches. Round Trip Missions talked to David about the need for short-term mission teams to prepare thoroughly, and how to react when the unthinkable happens.

Jesus told his disciples not to prepare anything for the road, just strike out. Is it even right to think about safety in the first place?

I do get that question sometimes. I usually ask the person, "Have you gotten yourself a book on the language?" They say "yes." So they're not relying on Jesus to makethem multilingual right away. They're going to learn and prepare to communicate effectively. It's the same thing with safety and security training. You need to do what you can to be prepared.

When you go on a short-term mission trip, you've spent all that money raising support and buying airline tickets. You don't want to expend all that effort just to go just to get turned around at the airport because ...